The Echo in the Remembrance
by Rochelle Templer
Summary: As everyone at the Jeffersonian welcomes their new arrivals, Sweets contemplates the meaning of family. Written from a prompt from the Bitesize Bones "Meme with no Theme" Comment fic meme


Author's Note: This little one-shot came to me from a prompt on the Bite-Size Bones board on LJ and after a conversation I had with my collaborator, **Buttercups3** when we were discussing how Sweets might react to all these new babies coming along at the end of Season Seven. I'd like to thank **Amilyn** for the original prompt, and I'll warn everyone now that there might be an overdose of fluffiness in this one. :)

I do not own Bones or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who reads/favorites/reviews this. It's always appreciated.

The Echo in the Remembrance

Even though there was a party happening elsewhere in the house, Sweets found himself in a position he had grown accustomed to these days: wandering about alone, lost in thought.

Booth and Brennan had announced their impending parenthood two days ago when the anthropologist had completed her first trimester, and everyone had decided to get together today to celebrate it. The gathering, which took place at Angela and Hodgins' new home and which also included Cam, Paul and Michelle, quickly morphed into a combination of a late housewarming for Angela and Hodgins, an early birthday party for Michael, and an impromptu baby shower for Brennan.

After enjoying a gourmet meal, courtesy of Hodgins' experienced staff, and exchanging numerous gifts, everyone eventually migrated to one of the front rooms to enjoy each others' company. As the afternoon wound down, Sweets mixed himself a drink at the bar and slipped away from the others so he could reflect. During his stroll, the therapist admired the changes he could see from how the house looked before in crime scene photos.

'_You'd hardly know that this used to be some spoiled debutante's getaway,' _he marveled. '_Or that someone had been murdered here.'_

Sweets chuckled a little at that last thought. Most people wouldn't dream of buying a house that had been the scene of a murder, especially if said people were the ones investigating said murder. But then again, Sweets had known for a long while now that his friends and co-workers were anything but "ordinary" or "conventional".

Soon, the psychologist stumbled upon a balcony that overlooked the garden that had recently been planted in the backyard. Sweets opened the glass door and stepped onto it, bracing himself slightly against the cooling evening air. He looked up at the sky and could see the daylight finally beginning to wane. Sipping at his drink, Sweets thought again about the others inside.

'_Seems like everyone is becoming parents and building families of their own,' _he mused. '_Cam and Paul with Michelle, Angela and Hodgins with their new baby, and Booth and Brennan with their baby on the way. I wonder if Booth's told Parker that he's going to be a big brother.'_

Sweets smiled at that. There had been many times throughout the years when Booth had come to him seeking advice or wanting to talk out some concern regarding Parker. He knew that the agent was often anxious about the job he was doing as a parent, and Sweets tried his best to consistently reassure him that he had nothing to worry about.

The psychologist leaned against the door-frame that led to the balcony. Ever since he had met Booth and Brennan, Sweets had sensed the bond between them and had anticipated the moment when the two of them finally worked up the courage to acknowledge that bond as being deeper than one of friends and partners. Now that the moment had come, Sweets found that he could hardly believe it at times. Still that did not stop him rejoicing over it.

'_They're wonderful people who always belonged together…and now they have the chance to stop wasting precious time and live their lives free of the specter of fear and doubt.' _

Sweets swallowed hard as the alcohol burned his tongue and then his throat. He could still see the look of joy on Booth's and Brennan's faces when they shared their news with everyone.

'_It's just like the joy that was on Angela's and Hodgins' faces when they told everyone about their baby,' _he thought. '_Or the look Cam has when Michelle talks about her future. It's the happiness of being a parent.'_

Twilight began to creep across the sky, and as the sunlight yielded to it, the resulting gloom managed to shift Sweets' thoughts toward a more somber mood.

'_Did my biological parents react like that when they found out about my impending arrival? Was it a joyful moment with all kinds of hopes and dreams for the future? Or was it…a disappointment? Something to dread?'_

Sweets frowned. He had practically no memories of his birth mother. At one point, he had tried to find her, so she could answer questions like these. But all that that search yielded was a photograph from her of the two of them along with a letter asking Sweets to stop looking for her. Once in a while, Sweets stared at the picture she sent of him as a toddler with his birth mother holding him in her arms, but he was always disappointed to realize that it did not spark any familial recognition whatsoever.

Unfortunately, Sweets had too many memories of his biological father: memories of beatings, memories of hateful words screamed at him, memories of fear, loneliness and despair. They were forever etched into his brain as surely as the scars on his back were carved into his skin.

When he considered the mere wisps of recollection along with the nightmarish terrors of his early childhood, Sweets found it difficult to believe that there had been any sort of happiness at the news of his conception. He then began to wonder if there was anything worse for any baby entering this world than for them to have nothing but regret, rage and sorrow awaiting them. Sweets then felt his heart ache when realized that there was probably no celebration like this for his biological parents when he was born.

'_I was the intruder,'_ he thought as his emotions became increasingly morose. '_That's how it was for them and the same was true in all those foster homes.'_

The therapist shuddered and took a long swig of his drink, not caring about how it made him choke afterwards. Within the short span of almost a year he was sent to four different foster homes, and every time the foster parents would send him back to the orphanage he came from within a month or less. He quickly learned that he was an unwelcome burden that nobody wanted. He could see it in the tired eyes they watched him with, could hear it in the weary, short voices they used to address him and could feel it in the way that they often avoided touching and interacting with him, as if he were some kind of leper.

'_I can't really blame them,' _he figured. '_I mean, no one was going to jump at the chance of taking care of a kid like that…like I was. There was no way I was ever going to be a "happy arrival".'_

Sweets finished his drink with one last gulp and sat the glass down on a stand before walking further onto the balcony. His emotions were rapidly spiraling downward, and he could feel himself getting pulled into a dark place within his soul. Suddenly, a patch of white and dots of yellow happened to catch his eye. The psychologist strained his eyes at the ground until he realized that he was looking at some daisies at the edge of the garden.

'_They're perfect…Just like the ones I used to give Mom.'_

In that moment, Sweets was finally able to work up a slight smile. When he was a child he would sometimes spend hours scouring the neighborhood he grew up in, looking for the one perfect daisy to give to the only woman he considered his mother, Carolyn Sweets. The way she beamed at him as he handed it to her always made the search worthwhile.

That thought quickly triggered many happier memories. After his fourth foster home, Sweets had resigned himself to the idea that he would be alone for the rest of his life and that he would never belong anywhere. But then came the fateful day when David and Carolyn Sweets came to see him at the orphanage, the day that led to his being "saved" by his true parents.

Hearing laughter coming from another room, Sweets' smile grew wider. The sound was similar to the laughter he shared with his parents when they were together. Sweets remembered evenings spent playing games and watching movies with them. Other times he simply sat between them and listened to them share stories of their many years together as a couple. As he savored each of these memories, Sweets found that he could still perceive the threads of love, amusement and belonging that wove themselves through all of his moments with his parents.

Despite his smile, Sweets ended up dabbing at tears that were forming in his eyes. Memories of his parents were always tinged with loss and watching his friends create families of their own made him keenly aware of his loss and of his dim prospects for building a family of his own.

The psychologist sighed and leaned forward against the bar at the front of the balcony, his gaze fixed on faint sparkles of stars that were starting to appear. When he had renewed his relationship with Daisy, she had made it clear that while she was open to trying harder to make things work between the two of them, she had no desire to "disrupt and derail" her career path with children at any point. Lonely and still adjusting to the new dynamics that came about when his friends returned, Sweets had been willing to accept her terms, but now he wondered if he had made a mistake.

Sweets shivered as the air cooled down even more. Ever since he had lost his parents, he had longed to find a secure home for his heart and now he was starting to wonder if perhaps he had outlasted his worth to Daisy...and to his friends.

'_They're all in solid relationships and have made families for themselves…so maybe they don't really need a fifth wheel like me anymore. After all, what use is a therapist when everything's fine?'_

Sweets clenched his hands into his fists, angry at himself for allowing those thoughts into his mind. He was happy for his friends and felt guilty for selfishly worrying about his own position and feelings in the face of their joy. He went back to brooding, hoping that no one would find him and possibly find out about his melancholy.

"Sweets? What are you doing out there?"

The psychologist whirled around to see Angela standing behind him, Michael fussing slightly in her arms.

"We've been looking for you," she said. "Why did you come out here?"

"I uh, needed some time to think," he mumbled, looking downward.

"About what?" the artist asked. Sweets shrugged at the question, unsure of how his friends would take his answer and miserable that he still felt that kind of separation from them.

Angela frowned as she watched a flicker of sorrow briefly showed itself in his eyes. She had talked to Hodgins yesterday about their growing family, and it suddenly occurred to her that Sweets might feel isolated without a family of his own to fall back on or to look forward to.

Her frown soon vanished, however, as she decided to take action.

"Hey Sweets, I just remembered that I needed to check on something with Hodgins," she said. "Would you mind holding Michael for a little while?" Sweets' face immediately turned scarlet, and he began to fidget.

"Oh, I don't mind, but I…I…are you sure?" he stammered.

"Of course I'm sure," Angela grinned at him. "Here."

She carefully handed her son over to Sweets, guiding his arms and hands so that he could properly support Michael as she did so. The baby started to fuss some more during the transfer, but as Sweets cradled him close, Michael calmed down and cooed at him a couple times.

"Wow," Angela breathed. "You're a natural at this, Sweets. Normally when he starts crying like that, there's no stopping him for a while." Sweets smiled and turned an even darker shade of red.

"It's nothing, really," he murmured.

"Yeah well, you just keep doing nothing for a few minutes, ok?" Angela said as she walked away. "I'll be back for him in a little while."

Sweets gingerly sat down on a nearby chair and gently rocked Michael in his arms. Within moments the infant closed his eyes and fell asleep.

"She's right, you know. You are a natural at this."

Startled, Sweets' head bobbed up in time to see Booth walking over to him, a shine of pride evident in his eyes.

"Michael's a wonderful baby," Sweets said, looking back down at the child he was holding. "Angela and Hodgins are going to be great parents." The agent sat down onto a chair next to him.

"You thinking of maybe giving this a try yourself at some point?" Booth asked him.

"I…I don't know," Sweets said. "I'd like to, but Daisy…she…."

The psychologist stopped and shook his head before returning his attention to Michael. Booth ground his jaw, but remained silent. A few seconds later, Booth regained his relaxed composure and put his arm around Sweets' shoulders.

"Sweets, listen to me," he said. "The day Parker was born was easily one of the best days of my entire life. Granted, it was over between me and Rebecca by that point, and I had a feeling that it would be complicated to raise a child with her. But the ever since the first moment that I held Parker in my arms, there has not been a single headache or heartache that could make me forget for one second about the deep sense of gratitude and happiness I've experienced as a father."

"And now you're going to have a chance to experience it again with Doctor Brennan," Sweets smiled. The agent grinned back at him and patted his back a couple times.

Yeah, I know," Booth said. "I can't wait, and I can tell that Bones is excited too, albeit in her own squinty way. The other day we spent almost an hour picking out a mobile for the crib because she was trying to figure out which one had the greatest 'cognitive development opportunities'."

The two of them shared a laugh over that, both of them knowing what the other one was thinking: that Brennan was certain to be a non-traditional but loving mother.

"The point is though that being a father is one of the best things that life has to offer," Booth added as he clasped Sweets' shoulder. "If anyone deserves that kind of happiness, it's you, and if Daisy can't see that…then she doesn't deserve to have you in her life."

"Thank you, Booth," Sweets said, blinking back tears. The last thing he wanted to do was to ruin this moment by letting Booth see him cry.

"But for right now, I think Angela and Hodgins have found the perfect babysitter, don't you?" Booth chuckled. Sweets blushed again.

"Oh no," he mumbled. "I'm not…They should…."

"And you better get used to it because you should know that you'll need to be available for Bones and me too," Booth continued.

"Booth, I…I don't know what to say," the therapist gulped.

"Sweets, this is what family does," Booth said. "We come together to welcome every new addition, and we work together to help them grow. Don't you know that? All of us: me, Bones, Angela, Hodgins and Cam…we're all counting on you to be a part of our lives and our children's lives...just like we will be there for you when it's your turn to become a parent."

Sweets' face lit up as he grinned again, too scared to speak lest he finally let loose the tears of joy he was desperately trying to hold back. He then looked back down at Michael, who was still asleep in his arms. It occurred to him for a moment that his friends had just found yet another way to keep him hopelessly busy, but that knowledge made him feel lighter instead of burdened.

Another chorus of laughter rang out from the other room, but Sweets never heard it. He was too busy focusing on the child in his arms, the hand on his shoulder, and the familial warmth in his heart.


End file.
